The Difference?

When you do a Lipslide, you'll end up in the same position on the feature as a boardslide but there is a major difference between these two types of tricks. When you Boardlside, you pop the nose of your board over the feature but when you Lipslide, you pop the tail of your board over the feature.

The Backisde Lipslide. Style.

The Front Lip

We will start with the Front Lip as this is generally the more natural way to Lipslide. Start by jumping up a little higher than you would for a normal Boardslide, this is to make sure you have enough time in the air to get your tail over the Balance Bar. As you jump up onto the Balance Bar, rotate Frontside 90 degrees and try to land with the board in the middle of the Balance Bar.

While in the Front Lip, keep your body aligned! Do this by keeping your hands over the nose and tail of your board.

Style It Out

Because you're using rotation to spin onto the Balance Bar your board may want to keep spinning. The longer you can keep it at 90 degrees to the Balance Bar, the better this trick is going to look.

A trick to keeping the spin to a minimum is to let your upper body continue to rotate while you keep the board perpendicular with the Balance Bar.

The Back Lip

Now that it's comfortable to Front Lip, try the Backside Lipslide. Use the same tips as above but start with the feature behind you, and face uphill as you slide the Balance Bar. An important thing to remember when trying this trick Backside, is that your head will have to turn along with your hips and shoulders.

Now that is a Back Lip!

Rotation or Counter Rotation?

Above, we have taught Lipslides using rotation but they can be done using counter rotation, which is a better technique when you want to come out of the Lipslide forwards. As we know, using counter rotation here will mean your upper and lower body will spin in opposite directions as you pop onto the Bar.

When you're ready to hop off, use the tension in your core to release the counter rotation and ride away in your regular stance.

Back Lips coming out in your regular stance are one of the most stylish tricks you can do on a rail, so it is important to use counter rotation to its full potential here. When you use counter rotation for your Back Lips, jump in like a Backside Shifty but land in a position similar to a Front Board.

You can even land more towards your front foot for extra style on your Back Lip.

Grab your Balance Bar and Training Board so you can play with Lipslides and experiment with different positions to develop a style that is all your own!